Gimme that ball, ' the boy barked in English. Joseph didn't understand the boy's words. 'Watch where you sit, greenie, ' the boy snarled back, this time in Yiddish. 'I am a greenie now, ' he told the boy, 'but soon I'll be a regular American. I catch on to things fast. The year IS 1909 and Joseph has just immigrated to the United States from Russia. He thinks that life in New York City will be wonderful, but he has not bargained for the challenges of learning English and of resisting the pressures to skip school, steal and fight to earn a place among the boys in his neighborhood. Just Call Me Joe presents a full picture of life in New York City for the working poor. Anna, Joe's older sister, struggles to cope with the terrible factory conditions of the time. Aunt Sophie must take in boarders to make ends meet. And Joseph must both accept change and remain true to himself in a new city with new challenges.